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We're under contract for a house that was just flipped.
The appearance is good, fresh paint and new appliances, but our inspector found found several issues.
For instance, they put in a new kitchen sink, but there's something wrong with the pipes and there's no water coming out of the pretty new faucet. There's a brand new air conditioner that pulls 50 amps, but the house only has 60 amp service, so if the a.c. is running, you can't use any other appliance.
Seller originally sent a disclosure statement that hadn't been filled out, saying he'd never been on the property. We insisted, and it turned out he knew quite a bit about the place.
We gave him a list of fixes we want. Time just ran out and he hasn't replied, so I guess he's not making any repairs.
I guess we'll just walk, though we love the property. Our offer was a little over market value because the land is so nice, but that means we probably shouldn't put more money into it.
And I feel like the seller's a sleezebag.
Advice? Suggestions ?
Be grateful your inspector was competent
Likely there are other issues that would come to light if you ignored the warnings and bought the house
Don't ask a realtor. They will say or do anything to make the sale. It is their job.
Again, don't talk to a realtor about it, they are on commission so they are going to push you towards making a deal simply to close a sale. They make zero money talking to you and showing you homes, they only get paid at closing.
Please don't lump us all into the same blanket statement. Read my post. I am a competent and knowledgeable source when it comes to real estate matters. I am worth what I get paid.....just ask my clients!!!!
Inspectors work for the realtor - helping make their sales. Only once in awhile, you'll find a decent independent inspector. Even an independent inspector don't have x-ray vision to see behind sheetrock.
I would ask the seller for names of the contractors used. Are the contractors licensed? Go to the town's building department for construction records. Get the names of contractors and call them to see if they really did the work. See if the town actually make inspections on the work done. My town let the flipper get away without using licensed contractors and he sign off on his own certificate of occupancy.
I would make the seller perform the repairs rather than accept a discount based upon his estimate (unless you have an estimate of your own to cross check). For all you know, the seller could be obtaining estimates from unlicensed contractors who will again perform substandard work and not obtain required permits.
The best solution is to get your own estimates. Trusting the seller to make repairs when it is the seller that made the original crappy repairs doesn't seem wise. There's an old saying "if you want it done right, do it yourself." Neither seller or buyer is obligated to agree to any particular reduction and the reduction doesn't have to be tied to any particular estimate. Flippers want to get it done fast so seller might give a greater reduction than the estimates for a quick deal.
And if the ultimate plan is to pull out this house and rebuild another, the less cash you have in it the better.
Originally Posted by SilverAng View Post
I would make the seller perform the repairs rather than accept a discount based upon his estimate (unless you have an estimate of your own to cross check). For all you know, the seller could be obtaining estimates from unlicensed contractors who will again perform substandard work and not obtain required permits.
You cannot force the seller to do the repairs. You can ask them to do so, but if they refuse, then you can cancel the sale, and walk away from it.
You can get the building department of the city to do an check of the property for an up to code inspection of the property (may cost a fee), and if it is not up to code, and was done by unlicensed workers without out a permit, they can red tag the property and force the owners to bring it up to code, and solve the problems before it can be sold or moved into. They will also inspect other projects of this flipper, and can put them out of business. This is what should be done to people like this flipper. You can delay your closing due to the property being red tagged, if you want to do this.
If the owner had not been on the property then your inspection may have been his first awareness of things that were wrong. He may have been taken for a ride by his contractors and is now fighting with them over the repairs.
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I agree about the realtor; this seller flips a lot of houses in this area, and has more to offer our realtor than our single transaction. We've had to push her to stand up for us. If this deal fails, we'll find a new realtor.
doesn't sound like you have a Realtor representing you. Sounds like his Realtor is representing him, and shepherding you along.
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